Wow Comics #1

History

Wow Comics #1 went on sale December 13, 1940, published by Fawcett Publications and edited by Bill Parker, with a cover by C.C. Beck — the same artist who had already defined the look of Captain Marvel. The lead Mr. Scarlet story was scripted by France Edward Herron, who had joined Fawcett in 1940 after earlier stints at the Chesler shop and Fox Features Syndicate, where he had first crossed paths with Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; Kirby penciled and inked the story, an attribution confirmed by researcher Greg Theakston and later corroborated by Harry Mendryk at the Jack Kirby Museum. The issue launched as a 68-page superhero anthology carrying nine separate strips — an unusually generous page count for a ten-cent book — and featured contributions from Pierce Rice, James Wilcox, Gus Ricca, Ken Battefield, and Harold Sharp alongside the Herron-Kirby lead. There is a minor dispute in the historical record about the precise role of C.C. Beck in shaping Mr. Scarlet's visual design, with Beck claiming some credit for the character's look even though Herron and Kirby are the credited creators.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance and origin of Mr. Scarlet (Brian Butler), a district attorney who operates as a masked vigilante — created by writer France 'Ed' Herron and artist Jack Kirby.
• First appearance of Atom Blake, 'the Boy Wizard,' a teenage hero who gained superhuman strength and intellect from atomic-ray treatments administered by his scientist father, and who channels his powers through a specially crafted ring.
• Contains the first known use of the name 'Gotham City' in comics — appearing in the Mr. Scarlet story on page 7 — predating DC's Batman #4 (also cover-dated Winter 1940) according to its Library of Congress on-sale date of December 13, 1940, as noted by Kirby historian Greg Theakston.
• The cover was painted by C.C. Beck; the Mr. Scarlet lead story was penciled and inked entirely by Jack Kirby, making it one of Kirby's earliest credited solo art jobs outside the Simon & Kirby studio context.
• The issue also includes the final appearance of Diamond Jack, a ring-powered hero who had previously appeared in Slam-Bang Comics #1–7.
• The anthology launched with 68 pages and nine separate strips — including Rick O'Shay, Jim Dolan, and White Rajah features — before the series eventually standardized at a smaller page count.
• The Mr. Scarlet story from this issue has been reprinted multiple times: in Comic Reprints (Nostalgia, Inc./Don Maris Comics, circa 1975), in The Complete Jack Kirby Vol. 2 (Pure Imagination, 1997), and in Gwandanaland Comics #795 — The Complete Mr. Scarlet: Volume 1 (2017).
• Mr. Scarlet and his later sidekick Pinky were eventually folded into DC Comics continuity after DC acquired Fawcett's assets, appearing in Justice League of America #135–137 (1976) as members of Shazam's 'Squadron of Justice' from Earth-S.

Full credits

Key issues in Wow Comics

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